


Always There

by Pyralspite (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Coming of Age, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Growing Up, Hormones, Kids growing up, M/M, Passage of time, childhood friendships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-10
Updated: 2013-07-13
Packaged: 2017-12-18 09:33:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/878328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Pyralspite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were five when they first met, the boy with the glasses who lived in the shadow of his older brother, and the girl with the smile that could light up a universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first DaveJade fic that I'm actually thinking of finishing.
> 
> If you guys have any questions, or want to see any sneaks peeks of this story, my tumblr is 'magnificenthoofbeasts'

They were five when they first met.

The boy with the glasses who lived in the shadow of his older brother, and the girl with the smile that could light up a universe.

He was at the beach, his small fingers raking up sand and stacking into a pile. The sun beat down unrelentlessly on the sand, but the wind was cool spreading the mist created by the waves. Dave crouched close to the ground, patting the sides of his sandcastle. He stood up to survey his work, his hands sandy and wet and his grin marred by the gap created by his two missing front teeth.

“Almost done,”

He dug a small moat around the castle and filled it with the warm water. A small flag was added to the top of the castle as a final decoration.

“Now I just hafta show Bwo,”

He looked towards the water, scanning the waves for his older brother, who said he was going to be surfing. After a few minutes of searching, Dave sighed and went back to reshaping his castle.

Suddenly, he was knocked harshly to the ground, sand flying into his nose, eyes, and throat. A sudden shot of pain jolted up his small body as his head hit the sand, making him cry out.

Dave started coughing, his body violently jerking to expel the sand that had gone where it wasn’t supposed to. Tears ran down his small cheeks as he started to cry, furiously rubbing at his eyes.

“Sorry!”

He heard the small padding of footsteps coming from his right, muffled by the soft sand. They came really close to him, and then faded away. He wondered if the person left or ran away. Maybe they were afraid that they would get in trouble with Bro.

Suddenly, he’s splashed in the face with a shitload of water and all he can do is sputter and cough and gag as seawater enters every single orfice on his face. All Dave could register was the throbbing, stinging pain in his throat and nose. He coughed up a mixture of water, spit, and sand and continued to cry.

“Hold still, my grampa showed me how to do this,”

Suddenly, a hand is placed on the side of his face and he instinctually flinches back, sniffling slightly. Another one grabs his arm.

“Hold still!”

Dave froze there, quivering slightly. His small heart beat twice as fast as he internally started to panic. Who was this person and what were they doing to him?

The grip on his arm is released and he feels a wet hand rub his face underneath his eyes. Suddenly, water trickled down onto his eyes, washing away the gritty sand. He sighed in relief, relaxing slightly.

“Hey! What’re you doing with my Bro?”

Dave heard Bro’s voice in the distance, and nearly sobbed with relief. He wanted to get out of here, away from the person who was touching and washing his face. He scrambled to his feet, eyes still squinted shut.

“Bro!”

Strong arms scooped him up from underneath, and he grabbed onto Bro’s neck as his brother made his way to their towel and umbrella.

The area around him cooled and Dave knew that he was underneath their Umbrella. He tried to open his eyes, but instantly shut them again when they began to sting. Dave rubbed at them furiously, trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

“Whoa there, don’t wanna do that,” Bro said, pulling his brother’s small hands away from his face. He picked up one of their spare towels and soaked it in the nearby cooler, which was full of melted ice.

“Hold still Dave”

Bro carefully rubbed the sand and snot off of Dave’s face, smirking slightly as he contorted and twisted his expressions, making them almost comical.. He took his brother over to the cooler and told him to bend over.

“Alright lil’ man, I’m gonna dunk your face in the cooler to get rid of those last bits of sand and shit. Take a deep breath,”

Dave obliged and Bro placed a hand on the back of Dave’s head and plunged it underwater, quickly wiping off the rest of the sand with his other hand. Dave sputtered and gasped and gagged as soon as his head was lifted, but the young boy found that his throat hurt a bit less, and that he could breathe normally again.

Three minutes later Dave was sitting under the umbrella, slowly testing out his eyes.

“Is he okay mister?”

A small voice came from behind Bro, and he turned around to find one of the oddest things he’s seen in a long time.

A small girl was there, wearing a once piece black swimsuit with a white swirly design on it. Her large glasses made her already big green eyes look huge, and her dark wet hair cascaded down her back, appearing reddish wherever the sun directly hit it.

What made her so peculiar was that she was sitting on what had to be the largest and whitest dog that Bro had ever seen. It was huge, with fluffy fur and a wet black nose. The dog panted happily, its ears twitching and tail wagging almost constantly.

The girl jumped off the dog and walked in front of Dave, looking at him curiously.

“Bec knocked him down when we were running,” she says, narrowing her eyes slightly at the younger Strider. Bro looked at her, unable to speak for a moment, mesmerized the small girl.

“Bec?”

“My doggy! He’s the best but he’s kinda big so he knocks stuff over a lot,”

“Ah, I see”

“Bro who are you talkin to?” Dave says, his face pointed towards his brothers voice.

“Open your eyes and see for yourself,”

Dave tests out his eyes, squinting open one, and then the other. He opens them slowly and nearly flies backwards when he sees the girl standing right in front of him, barely five inches away from his face.

“Hi there!” she says, giggling slightly. Dave simply looks befuddled and Bro laughs quietly.

“Who are you?” he asks, still looking at her with a cautious expression. She holds out her hand.

“My name’s Jade, whats yours?

Dave gets up and shakes her hand, dropping it quickly.

“Dave”

“Sorry my doggy knocked you over. He can be so silly sometimes!”

“s’alright,” he mumbles, looking down slightly. He walks to the other side of the umbrella and picks up a towel silently, wiping his face, leaving the girl behind.

Bro decides to pitch into the conversation.

“Hey kid, how old are you?”

“I’m five years old. My birthday’s in December, and it’s the best day ever!” she says, swinging her arms out exuberantly and giving Bro a bucktooth smile. Bro chuckles.

“I’m sure it is kid. Are you here by yourself?”

“No I have Bec,”

“I mean are you here with your parents or somethin?”

Jade laughs, a high airy sound.

“No silly, I don’t have parents. My grampa brought me here, he’s the best.”

“You’re darn tootin right I am,”

Bro looked up to see a man walking towards him. He was tall, and had the type of build that suggested that he was quite muscular when he was in his prime. He looked like he was in his early fifties, with dark hair shot through with gray.

“Who are you bugging now Jade?” he asks, putting his hands on his hips in a comical pose and staring down at the little girl. Jade pouts slightly.

“I’m not bugging anyone, I’m just talking!”

The man turns to Bro, still in the ridiculous pose.

“Was she bugging you two?”

Bro shakes his head. “Not at all, we’re just chillin here. Her dog knocked over my lil’ bro and she was just apologizin,”

The man’s expression changes into a worried grimace, “Oh dear, Is your brother alright?”

“Yeah he’s fine” Bro says, gesturing to where Dave was sitting on the other side of the umbrella. He was zoned out, staring out onto the water.

“Well that’s good,” he says, holding his hand out. “Jake English, nice to meet you,”

Bro shakes his hand, “Dirk Strider, you guys new here or something? Don’t recall seeing you around these parts.”

“We moved here last week, got a nice house on Sebastian Drive”

“Oh, then you must be the family that moved in down the street from us,”

The adults begin to converse while Jade stands there looking bored. She tugs on the hem of her grandfather’s swim trunks.

Jake turns to Jade. “Jade, why don’t you go play with Dave for a little bit?”

The little girl grins and bounds off to where Dave is sitting, nearly scaring the living daylights out of small boy.

“Hey Dave, wanna play?” she says, grinning widely. Dave nervously rubs his shoulder, whispering a quiet ‘okay’.

Jade smiles at him in all her bucktoothed glory, and grabs his hand, running off towards the waves.

By the end of the day, they’re both sweaty and wet, with sand sticking in too many uncomfortable places and hair plastered to their faces. Dave has sunburned shoulders and new freckles all over and Jade’s nose is peeling and they’re both laughing manically.

They lay on the sand, smiling at the sunset, viewing the world in all their childish innocence. Addresses were exchanged and promises were made. Jade claimed Dave as her new best friend and Dave claimed that Jade was the ‘coolest girl he knew’.

They both fell asleep in the sand, hands linked and smiles on their faces.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously didn't expect this much positive feedback.  
> You guys rock.
> 
> you can find me on tumblr at magnificenthoofbeasts.tumblr.com.

Summer passes quickly, and It’s full of hot days playing in Dave’s backyard pool and lazy nights lying in a tent in Jade’s backyard, staring at the stars while Jade’s grandfather tells them tales of his adventures.

They always fall asleep holding hands.

School brings two new kids into their number; Jade’s cousin and Dave’s stepsister.

Rose is a small girl, with pale hair and purple eyes. She moves gracefully for someone her age, almost as if she were dancing, her purple sash fluttering slightly behind her slender form and her small stuffed cat crushed against her chest.

John on the other hand, is a bit stocky for his age, with a bit of flab on his stomach and chubby arms. He has buckteeth and glasses, just like Jade, and untamable windswept hair that stuck in odd directions. His eyes were as blue as the sky and he had a habit of sucking his thumb.

They play together, stacking blocks and collapsing in piles of laughter when their towers fall over. Dave likes to play with the drums, Jade likes to draw, Rose likes to play with stuffed toys, and John likes to play with the blocks and construction equipment, showing keen interest in the hammers.

Jade tells Dave that he has pretty eyes, and John overhears. He later tells Rose that her eyes are ‘bootiful’.

She gives him a small kiss on the cheek.

“What was that for?” he asks her, dumbfounded.

“My mama always does that when people call her pretty, so I do it too,”

John pauses for a few moments bashfully before he speaks again.

“I think both you and your mama are pretty,”

He gains a kiss on the other cheek.

All in all life suits them well. The four friends spend the school year together, and before they know it, summer approaches them in all its glory.

Dave’s friendship with John begins to flourish that year, and Jade cannot help but feel a bit jealous. She knew she had Rose and John, but Dave was her best friend. What if Dave decided to be best friends with John instead of her?

And thus this thought consumed her five year old mind and worried her to pieces.

Jade voiced her thoughts late one night at the peak of summer during a sleepover. The four of them were sleeping in Dave’s fully furnished basement, the only place in the house that wasn’t excessively hot or muggy. They were lying on their stomachs on the air mattress, watching some crappy Ghostbusters movie that John had wanted them to watch.

John said it was a good movie.

Dave claimed that John was stupid.

And of course John would be the one to conk out first.

The dark haired boy lay on the right side of the large air mattress, hugging his stuffed bunny with his chubby face pressed against the pillow and his mouth open the tiniest bit. Rose fell asleep right next to him hugging her stuffed cat under one arm and resting her head on the other.

Dave and Jade were still awake, though they were close to nodding off themselves. Jade’s glasses were off and her squiddles toy was next to her pillow. Dave’s stuffed crow sat next to it, silently facing the screen.

“Hey Dave, I wanna ask you something,”

“Okay,” he answers, not taking his eyes off the screen.

“Am I still your best friend?”

“You’ll always be my best friend,” he answers, giving her an odd look. Jade grins widely.

“You’ll always be my bestest friend too Dave,”

They fall asleep facing each other and holding hands, while the movie plays on, forgotten by the four children.

* * *

They’re in fourth grade when someone first comments about Dave’s eyes.

“Look, its Dave with his freaky eyes!” the kid jeers. He’s a large kid, and from what Dave heard, he’d been held back atleast two years, making him bigger, taller, and meatier than the rest of the kids. The other start snickering and making rude comments.

“He looks like a creep,”

“My sister says that if someone has red eyes they’re cursed or something,”

“Oooh, I bet you he is cursed. Or maybe he has a rare disease or something,”

“Ewww, I don’t want to go near him if he has a disease, I might get sick too,”

“I don’t want red eyes!”

Thus, the childish stupidity goes on and on.

Dave doesn’t understand why they laugh at him. His bro always wore glasses, but he claimed that they were for ‘irony’ and didn’t serve any real purpose. His bro said that his eyes were ‘really fucking cool’ and that he shouldn’t listen to anyone who claims otherwise.

Jade finds him moping behind the playstructure at lunch.

“What’s wrong Dave?” she asks, wrapping her arms around him. He leans into her hug, placing his head near the center of her chest, on her ribs.

“I don’t g-get why they’re laughin at my eyes. They say I’m a freak of nature or somethin,”

Jade gets that glint in her eyes that suggests that she’s about to do something completely insane.

“They’re fuckasses and you shouldn’t listen to them. You have the coolest eyes I’ve ever seen and nobody can convince me otherwise,”

Dave smiles at the anger in her voice.

“Thanks Jade,”

“No problem,”

They smile and walk back to the building, joining up with their friends for lunch.

When Dave see’s Jade afterschool, she has a black eye and a split lip. She grins maniacally.

Dave immediately drags her to his house and gets out the first aid kit, telling her to put the ice pack on her eye and wiping the blood from her mouth.

She asks him how he knows what to do.

He tells her that he gets hurt a lot when he’s strifing with his Bro.

When Dave’s Bro and Jade’s Grandpa come back that evening from work, they find two nine year olds and a melting ice pack nestled in the couch, fast asleep.

“Looks like they haven’t given up that hand holding thing, eh Gramps?” Dirk says, chuckling slightly.

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Jake replies with a grin to match.

* * *

The next day Dave gets into a fight.

The same kid who teased him the day before confronts him, only this time, he has a welt on his left cheek the exact shape and size of Jade’s hand, and scratches down his right. He looked spitting mad and Dave couldn’t help but feel proud of what Jade had done.

“What’s wrong Strider? Had to get bucktooth Harley to save your little princess ass?”

“Shut the fuck up Mitchell,”

A collective oohhh goes through the group of kids around them as Dave grits his teeth and clenches his fists, ignoring them and walking onward.

“Don’t know why you hang out with her anyway. She’s ugly as hell with her nasty buckteeth and dorky glasses. On the other hand, she’s perfect for losers like you,”

Dave freezes in place, his eyes flashing dangerously. They could talk shit about John, they could talk shit about Rose, they could even talk shit about him and he wouldn’t do anything.

But if any motherfucker talks shit about Jade in front of him, all hell breaks loose.

“DON’T YOU DARE SAY SHIT ABOUT JADE OR I’LL KNOCK YOUR FUCKIN TEETH OUT!” he screams, clenching his fists so tight that it hurt.

Mitchell nearly flies forward and grabs Dave by the shoulders, squeezing hard enough to make the smaller kid wince.

“I’d like to see you try you stupid priss,”

And with that he clocks Dave in the gut hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

Dave lands on his ass, but darts back up again. Years of strifing with his Bro taught him how to handle situations like this.

Dave pulls his fist back and punches the ten year old in the nose, snapping the kids head back in a spurt of blood. Mitchell kicks Dave in the shin and knocks him to the ground.

“Why does everyone like a loser like you so much?” Mitchell spits while punching Dave in the arm. Dave simply shoves him in the chest as hard as he can, a snarl decorating his face.

The boys roll around, kicking, scratching, and punching eachother; the small nine year old against the gargantuan twelve year old who’d already hit his growth spurt and looked strikingly like a bulldog on steroids. The other kids gather around them, unsure of what to do.

“Dave what are you doing!”

“Oh my god stop!”

Dave turns around to see the Harley-Egbert duo running towards him, with Rose following close behind.

This moment of distraction gives Mitchell a key opportunity that he uses to his advantage. Before he knows it, the larger kid is sitting on top of Dave’s chest, pressing down and _ow ow ow fuck he was heavy crap that hurt really bad._

Dave began to cry as Mitchell presses down under his chest. He squirms and writhes, trying to get away, but the kid was too damn heavy and Dave was just too damn tired.

“Hey Strider, you wanna see what my older brother taught me?”

He grins at Dave with an ugly smile, and begins pressing down harder on his ribs. Dave begins to scream; Rose and John watch from the sidelines in horror.

“Mitchell I would appreciate if you got off my brother,” Rose says coldly. Mitchell flinches for a moment, but before that moment is over the smirk is back on his face.

“Make me Lalonde,”

Jade darts into the fray.

She digs her nails into Mitchell’s back, making him flinch slightly, taking his arms off of Dave. He pushed her aside with both hands, making her land on her ass in the dirt.

“Stay out of it Harley,”

Some of Mitchell’s friends step out of the crowd and begin to yell at Jade. Before anyone can really do anything, a full out fight forms, with Rose, John, and Jade furiously kicking and scratching Mitchell’s so called friends.

Dave takes the opportunity to pull Mitchell’s hair while he’s distracted, making the older kid shriek as he yanked. A look of pure fury crossed his face.

With one fell swoop, he brought his fists down on Dave’s chest, pressing harder than before. An audible cracking noise emanates from the younger kid as he begins to scream and cry at the top of his lungs, gasping and choking in pain. He had never gotten hurt this badly, even while strifing with his Bro. It was terrible, the pain making every single part of him throb as he gasped for air like a fish out of water.

Suddenly, he heard a commotion and the weight on his aching chest was lifted as Mitchell got off of him. The older boy looked at him with an expression full of malice.

“Thanks a lot you little shit now I’m gonna get in trouble!”

Dave smirked slightly, one eye swollen shut as he wheezed on the ground.

“Good,”

Mitchell laid a kick to the side of Dave’s head, snapping it to the side and hitting it against the cold metal pole of the playstructure.

He see’s stars and everything begins to blur and _oh my god it hurts it hurts it hurts so fucking bad I’m gonna die here I’m sorry Bro I couldn’t be as strong as you I couldn’t fight like you I failed._

Through blurred eyes Dave saw Mitchell cowering on the ground nearby as three figures stand over him. He could see a flash of purple kick him in the groin, a bluish blob that kicks him in the back, and a green blur that knees him in the face. The world is spinning around in an onset of bright lights and colors as the throbbing in his head and chest continues as he begins to cough and _oh fuck am I coughing up blood?_

Everything goes dark.

* * *

Bro gets a call from the school. The lady on the other side sounds frantic, panicked.

“Is this Mr. Strider?”

“Yeah, what’s up,”

“It seems that David and his friends got into a serious fight on the playground. The ambulance is on its way as we speak but we would appreciate it if you came as soon as you can,”

Bro’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Ambulance?”

“Yes it seems that two or three children have sustained serious injuries, and Dave got the wor-“

“Fuck it. I’m on my way,”

He slams the receiver down and grabs his files.

* * *

When Bro gets to the school building, there are numerous parents lined up outside. He could hear kids crying and whimpering inside the office.

Sitting in the corner was little Egbert cradling his arm and sniffling. His dad was in front of him, pristine white Fedora nearly glowing in the desolate room. He was consoling John, cleaning up his tears and telling him that they were going to get his arm fixed as soon as possible. The boy sniffles and nods tearfully.

Rose was sitting in the corner with ol’ ‘Foxy’ Roxy Lalonde. A smirk was spread across the little girl’s bruised up face as she watched the huge ass boy in the corner crying and _fuck did his parents feed him growth hormones for dinner every night?_ Roxy looked incredibly smug and proud.

“Thas’ my girl. You showed em’ Rosie you beat their asses good. Momma’s so proud a’ you,”

The parents of the bulldog kid shoot Roxy a glare and she sticks her tongue out at them.

The last of their number, Harley, was sitting right next to Egbert, holding her arm and wincing at the welts and scratches that covered it. Bro crouches down in front of her and looks up at her face.

“You okay there?” he asks, wiping away her tears with his thumb. She flings her arms around his neck, making him let out a surprised yelp.

“I’m so sorry Bro I’m the reason Dave got hurt oh my god I feel terrible,”

He stiffens at the mention of Dave’s name as she begins to ramble and cry.

“Hey Jade it would be pretty fuckin awesome right now if you could tell me where he is,”

She led Bro to the clinic area in the back of the office.

It had been nearly ten years since Dirk Strider last shed a tear.

He cried that night.

* * *

“Yo Harley you can stop talking now,”

Dave lay down and stared at the ceiling of the hospital room, staring at the cracking and breaks marring the wall. It had been about two day’s since he woke up, and most of those two days had been spent drifting in and out of sleep.

Jade sat next to him, sniffling quietly. Her black eye had subsided considerably, allowing her to squint.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m so so sorry it was my fault I shouldn’t have hit them the day before,”

She was apologizing over and over again for something she didn’t cause, and the sound of her crying pulled at Dave’s heartstrings. He could never stand seeing Jade cry.

“Harley,”

“No Dave its all my fault you got hurt because of me,”

“Harley,”

“Oh my god I’m a terrible friend John broke his arm and Rose got a bunch of bruis-,”

“JADE!”

And Dave, sweet little Dave just put a hand on her mouth and shook his head. Her eyes softened and she nodded slightly. Years of knowing Dave allowed her to understand his every movement, every twitch, every casual shrug of his shoulder, every smile.

She knew that he forgave her.

She stayed with him in the hospital every night until he was released, falling asleep next to him and waking up with the imprint of her glasses on her face.

They smile and laugh and joke around and it feel so right and so natural to spend time with eachother.

Their hands remained clasped.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually beginning to enjoy writing this thing.

The time between sixth and seventh grade brings many changes to the four.

Dave hit his growth spurt, shooting up like a weed and finally growing taller and leaner than the other three. He wore big awkward aviators to cover up his red eyes ever since the fourth grade incident, and now he had finally grown into them. His face was slowly losing that childish roundness, making him appear older and handsomer. His voice cracked and pitched constantly, still adjusting between his childhood high and the baritone he was growing into. He was lanky, stuck in that awkward in between phase of puberty when your body shoots up too far in a ridiculously short amount of time.

John grew too, not quite as much as Dave, but a considerable amount. He worked out and lost weight, building a decent amount of muscle, making him a sharp contrast to Dave’s lean and lanky structure. He got braces, which slowly corrected his buckteeth, and he swapped out his big bulky square glasses for a pair that were a bit smaller and more suited to his face.

Rose grew taller and curvier, with hips that jutted out and swung a bit when she walked. She chopped off her long whitish blond hair, making it end right along the curve of her jaw. She started wearing black lipstick and black eyeliner, and had developed an infatuation with wizards, dead things, and the colors purple and black.

Halfway across the world, Jade grew up too, puberty hitting her swiftly and drastically over the summer. She grew slightly taller than John, though not quite as tall as Dave. The chubbiness in her face slowly decreased, making her loose that innocent childhood appearance that she always seemed to carry. Her chest grew to a decent size, and the fat in her midsection decreased gradually, forming a slender waist and small hips. She crops her hair so that it just barely brushes her shoulders.

They spend the summer having pool parties and get-togethers. Rose takes an interest in psychology and psychoanalyzes the life out of the two boys. The three back home hang out with their other friends, including the loudmouth Karkat Vantas, the elegant Kanaya Maryam, and manipulative Vriska Serket. Twelve new companions have joined them over the course of two short years, but as always, the original four seem the most loyal and tightly knit.

John develops an unrequited crush on Rose and ends up getting his heart broken when Rose kisses Kanaya under the moonlight during a campout. He’s sweet about it though, and thoroughly encourages her to continue dating the slender Maryam.

Dave confronts him about this late one afternoon. He asks why John wasn’t making such a big fuss about it.

“It’s because I like her Dave, and I want to see her happy. I’m willing to put my own feelings aside for her,” John looks by and lets out a breathy and bitter laugh. “Funny how it turns out that the first person I fall in love with doesn’t swing that way,”

Dave simply looks at him for a moment and shakes him head, his expression unreadable behind his shades.

“You’re the hugest fucking sap I’ve ever laid eyes on,”

“Yeah, I know,”

Even as he says it, Dave knows that John’s soul and mind are far older than his age. Not many twelve year olds would take such a mature course of action.

He also comes to the sudden revelation that he too would be willing to put aside his feelings for the sake of a certain girl.

Dave’s eyebrows furrow as he contemplates the thought, wondering where the hell it came from.

His confusion only sets in for a moment before he shakes it away and shuffles forward.

They walk on in companionable silence.

* * *

They talk to Jade through the phone and there’s a small ache at the pit of Dave’s heart  as he hears her voice and _he misses her, he misses her so fucking much it makes his chest ache._

He still curls his fingers when he sleeps at night, as if Jade’s hand is still nestled firmly in his. Their sleepovers became a lot less constant after fifth grade, but old habits die hard and he’s slept that way ever since he could remember.

* * *

Summer morphs into fall and as the leaves turn golden Jade returns in all her glory. For a brief moment Dave is unable to recognize the girl who launches herself into his arms, hugging him so hard he can hear his spine crack. He laughs as she turns her face to him.

Yep, definitely Harley.

She’s excited, telling him about her trip and of all the wonders she saw and the people she’s met. Jade even claims that she has a gift for him.

Dave grins for a second, but his expression slowly turns fearful when he see’s the wicked look on her face.

She reaches into the bag she brought with her and pulls something out.

Oh.

Oh fuck no.

She brought him a Japanese schoolgirl outfit, complete with thigh high socks and necktie.

“There is no way in hell I’m wearing that,”

“Oh fuck yes you are,” comes a voice from behind you, and you look back in horror to see your twenty-eight year old Bro straddling the banister like a fucking preschooler, a shit eating grin decorating his smug face. He darts out and takes the dress from Jade, raising his other hand for a high-five.

“Bro asked me to bring you one when I went to Japan,” she says, grinning and high-fiving him.

“Since when were you two in cahoots?”

“Since whenever I get an opportunity to see you embarrass yourself,” Jade says, nudging Dave’s foot. He groans audibly and Bro absconds up the stairs.

“Harley you’re going to end up being the death of me,” Dave says, burying his head in his hands. Jade laughs quietly for a few moments, then goes silent. Dave looks over to see what’s wrong.

She looks so sad, her eyebrows tilted downward and her lips drooping, making an expression that pulls at Dave’s chest.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks her, nudging her with his shoulder. She smiles sadly at him.

“Nothing, I just missed you all. Everyone’s changed so much this summer and you guys had so much fun with eachother and I…..I wasn’t there,”

Oh fuck she looks like she’s about to cry.

Dave doesn’t even hesitate for a second before he scoops her up in a lanky bear hug. She wraps her arms around him and the embrace felt so familiar and oh so right.

“Well you’re here now right? That’s what fuckin matters the most,”

She smiles behind his shoulder.

“I really missed you Dave,”

“Missed you too Harley,”

* * *

School starts and life goes on as usual. Rose starts dating Kanaya, and Karkat works up the nerve to ask out his long time crush, the blind law nut, Terezi Pyrope.

She of course says yes in her overly exuberant manner and covers him in wet kisses, even pausing to lick his cheek, claiming that he tastes like the color red.

He calls her a fucking weirdo and tells her that her tongue is flawed, even though he knows that she has freaky as shit senses and synthesia that somehow allows her to see her surroundings even though she’s blind.

“Karkles I can smell the cherry shampoo you used this morning,”

He curses silently under his breath.

Of course, a week later Jade finds Terezi and Dave making out against the back of the school building and nearly flips her shit. A shocked expression dons Dave’s face as the other girl plants her lips on his swiftly, giggling and sniffing at him. Jade ducks behind a corner and spies on them making out and she knows that this is so terribly wrong Terezi has a boyfriend already and Dave belongs to her and everything feels wrong and horrible.

She freezes as she goes over her thoughts again.

Dave belonged to her?

The green eyed monster takes control of the spying Jade Harley and there’s no turning back now.

She doesn’t know why she feels this way about seeing her best friend make out with Terezi. She should be fine with it…..right?

The next week she gets back at Terezi and Dave by pecking Karkat on the lips right in front of their eyes. The lanky angry Indian boy simply looks shocked, his usual expletives failing him.

Dave simple shrugs and kisses Karkat right after her, leaving the boy cursing in his wake.

“Why you piece of shit bulgefucking assholes what the fuck is wrong with the two of you!?” he swears at the top of his lungs. Jade starts laughing along with Terezi, jealousy melting away while Dave smirks.

“You know you can’t resist this Strider ass,” Dave deadpans. Karkat flips him off and storms down the hallway.

* * *

Hormones begin running amok somewhere between seventh grade and eighth grade and suddenly everyone find their friends _that_ much more attractive.

In eighth grade Kanaya and Rose continue dating despite the crude teasing done by their classmates. They ignore the words thrown at them, some of the most common being ‘faggot’ ‘cunt' ‘sinner’ and ‘bitch’.

Rose uses calm cold words that bite back and leave the teaser speechless.

Kanaya uses a cruder approach and threatens that she’ll chop them in half with the chainsaw that her lumberjack stepdaddy gave her on her thirteenth birthday.

Eridan Ampora makes the mistake of not taking her seriously enough.

He finds a note in his locker from Kanaya telling him to meet her on the school grounds next to the big oak tree afterschool.

Their entire group of friends join him, curious as to what the strange girl might do.

Kanaya waits until everyone’s arrived and revs up her chainsaw.

She pins a picture of Eridan up on the tree.

“Let us all pretend for the sake of keeping me from getting arrested that this is Eridan,”

She takes her chainsaw and chops the picture in half, proceeding to slice everything but the base of the tree to smithereens.

She then takes a knife and carves a message into the stump swiftly and smoothly as Eridan looks on in horror.

_Mr. Ampora If You Verbally Or Physically Taunt My Girlfriend Or I One More Time I Guarantee That You Will Suffer The Same Fate As This Tree._

Rose smirks and gives Kanaya a peck on the cheek.

John lets out a low whistle.

Dave shakes his head in silent laughter and claps slowly.

Eridan nods and back away, his face donning a fearful expression and turning pale as a ghost

He stays at least six feet away from both Kanaya and Rose at all times and nobody bothers them for the rest of the year.


End file.
